LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY amethyst_hunter)

I knew this was coming: Anti-choice extremists PLAL to sue PP and spokesman Steve Trombley for alleged "libel." ( Article under cut )

I was informed by dogemperor that this is a classic example of what has come to be legally referred to as a SLAPP:

Strategic Lawsuit(s) Against Public Participation. These groups like to file spurious lawsuits against critics (claiming to be the victims of libel or slander, as PLAL is doing here), not expecting to win in the courts - the purpose is to bankrupt their critics into silence.

In general, the intent is either to sue to the point that a critic is forced to settle out of court, sue them into poverty, sue to remove a rewarded court award (as was such in the case of Laura Schubert), or engage in endless appeals until the opposing party is bankrupted or forced to settle out of court in such a way that they agree not to make statements about the group.

The problem is bad enough that a number of states, like California, have specific laws and rules of the court prohibiting SLAPPs and issuing severe sanctions against groups found to have launched a SLAPP. Illinois has a bill pending in its state legislature that would prohibit SLAPPs.

Aurora is at a critical crossroads right now, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Pro-choice and anti-choice alike have noted that whatever happens in Aurora will set the tone for future protests and happenings regarding women's healthcare (in regards to contraception and abortion). National media have been taking note as well (including a piece in TIME magazine's online edition), and in part that's how PLAL has gotten a lot of anti-choice support: they've been getting contacts and bussed-in people from well out of state locations.

In short: This is a textbook case of extremism geared towards taking away womens' rights, and abusing the US court system to do it.

EDIT: Just found out, straight from the Aurora PP blog itself come these disgusting little tidbits:

One of the publicity whores in the infamous Terri Schiavo case is poking his unwelcome nose into the Aurora PP business too.

For instance, several years ago we tracked down a twelve-year-old girl who was going to have an abortion so that we could talk her out of it. Talking a woman out of having an abortion is not news. But tracking her down by using a private detective is.
Joseph Schiedler, The Director Pro Life Action League, Closed: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion, 1985

They want abortion. It is necessary to their filthy lifestyle. We've got a cesspool instead of morality. If we don't start imposing our morality, we are going to drown in their immorality.

MAN WITH A MISSION JOE SCHEIDLER PULLS NO PUNCHES IN HIS CRUSADE AGAINST ABORTION, interview with Linda Witt, Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1985 Sunday

A Chicago Tribune article in which zealot Joe Scheidler is positively pissing his pants at the thought of going after this and other PP clinics, including one in Austin, Texas and one slated to open in Denver, Colorado - which is also experiencing the same kind of harassment and possibly red tape that Aurora is going through (though perhaps not quite as much, for the time being).